Lesson 102: Words of Comfort for a Suicide Funeral
There is very little to say that hasn’t already been said by us and others to express our shared grief over your loss of Kyle. We know this is at the top of the most painful experiences anyone can undergo in this life, one that penetrates to the core of the soul. Such grief can surround us with a depth of hopelessness that makes it difficult to go on, and continue to find life worthwhile and joyful.
Only Jesus truly understands the depths of such suffering, and only He can give us comfort. The Bible speaks of Him as “a man of sorrows well acquainted with grief.” Jesus wept outside the tomb of Lazarus, a dear friend who had died days prior to His arrival. But then He raised him to new life. The fact of something far better than this life is the only hope that gives the strength, grace and peace to go on and live the life God gave us fully and joyfully.
Life is difficult, and for some, too difficult to finish out the 70-80 years the Bible gives as our life span. And so, grieve we must; it’s part of our healing. But we can’t be consumed by thoughts of what might have been. The Lord gives life as a gift and He can take it away, or not prevent someone else from taking it. One can only cherish the years and the memories, and be thankful for the happier times.
The only assurance each of us can have at a time like this, is in the nature and character of God himself. He is a God of unimaginable love, compassion, grace, mercy and forgiveness and desires that each of us will spend eternity with Him. At times like this, when we are reminded of how temporary and brief this life is, we can know that we have peace and reconciliation with Him with Jesus as our Savior, our certain hope for eternal salvation.
No one can ever know the mind, heart and soul of another person, and at what point in his life he turns to God and Jesus. No sin is unforgiveable; Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, murdered Christians before he came to Christ. But we can believe the Scriptures that tell us “It is not God’s will that any should perish but that they should receive eternal life through Jesus Christ.” God, out of His compassion and love, extends the benefit of every doubt and opportunity to every person to receive Jesus as Savior, even in the fleeting last seconds of life. But each of us can know our own heart, and turn to God and Jesus while we have life, before circumstances and aging end our lives here.